Take Down
by Field
Summary: T'Mir's plan comes to fruition. Despite the Captain's doubts, they prepare to infiltrate the Romulan shipyard. Tensions run high, and the crew wear their emotions close to the surface. In the Cross Culture series. Read and Review!
1. Part I

Okay, the next installment. Despite doubts, they face the Romulans, not for the last time, either. It may be a while between the next episodes, school has restarted and my schedule is just killing my free time.

Enjoy. Don't forget the review button !!

* * *

_Captain's Personal Log:_

_We're currently underway to the Romulan system._ He sighed audibly._ I don't particularly like what we're about to do; it goes against everything Starfleet's been working towards. The only thing that keeps me on this absurd path is that frightening little Vulcan._

_She seems to have swayed most of the senior officers. Malcolm at least still gives credit to my suspicions, but he and the girl have been working closely, making modifications and upgrades to weapons systems, and it seems that he's just suffering me._

_I haven't heard any complaints from Travis, and Hoshi went so far as to say she liked her, informally, of course. Then there's Trip and T'Pol – I'm glad that she's here for them, but, it just feels too strange. T'Pol hasn't been too bothered by her presence, to my knowledge at least. _

_Trip, however, seems to be bordering on downright worship. That has to be a good thing. He's not moping around anymore, like he did after –_ he paused, and raised his eyebrows –_ the baby's death. He's gotten over his anger and suspiscions, surprisngly quickly, which is fortunate. He's even taken to mentoring her in Engineering, I hear._

_I suppose I trust her as well, I have to after our unexpected run-in with the Ferengi. She did save my life, after all. Even if her methods were rather unorthodox – letting me hang there, while she risked life and limb against six angry Klingons – they were effective. Sure, I was in no shape to help her out – my leg's still killing me, despite what Phlox says – but did she really have to set off that Hydrogen explosion? _

_I guess, with her ties to this crew, I really don't know how I can say that her heart's not in the right place, if not in need of a little discipline. And we have decided that she is tied to the crew – at least that debate is over, but is that swaying my decision?_

_I don't really know if –. _

The door bell chimed. "Computer, pause recording."

Captain Archer took a minute to compose himself and sat at the desk in his cramped office. "Come in." he beckoned at last.

T'Mir appeared crisply behind the doors as they opened. She nodded slightly in way of greeting, "Captain."

"Have a seat." He made no attempt at familiarity with her, but brusquely entered into business. "What we're about to do, T"Mir, it doesn't sit well with me."

She seemed to stare blankly at him for a moment, as though she hadn't bothered to register what he'd said. Finally, she sighed, "I had expected you to have such concerns, Captain. It wouldn't 'sit well' with me if you did not."

He waited for her to continue, but she did not. He snapped his head back suddenly with the realization. "That's it?" he shouted, rising to his feet.

"Captain, sit down."

He did so with obvious reluctance, but the fact that he did it spoke volumes.

She sighed again, collecting her thoughts. "I can tell you that if we ignore this, the results will be much worse than a simple court martial."

"What, T'Mir?" he shouted again, not entirely rising to his feet, "You keep alluding to some horrible fate, but you can't tell us what it is."

For the first time, he saw her shoulders droop and she looked tired, very tired. "I don't know, Captain, but I lived through it, and it was not pleasant."

He relaxed, slightly, back into his chair.

"I believe that several years ago, Enterprise attempted to intercept a ship that had been commandeered by aliens found frozen into Earth's northern pole. The ship was destroyed, but had time to send a subspace message to the delta quadrant."

"Yes." the Captain lurched forward in his chair again.

"I'm told the Romulans caused an accident, tearing the space-time continuum irreparably. The rift opened to the delta quadrant." She paused for effect, "The Romulan's explored the rift and its far side. They were the first species to be 'assimilated', as the term is. The Borg – for that is the species' name – moved through the alpha and beta quadrants at ease.

"One good thing came of the invasion: it brought all the quadrant's inhabitants together for a common goal. But, the Alliance was short lived – many of our best warriors and officers were taken in the first engagement. The Borg were on Vulcan, I know, but they did not infiltrate the sparsely populated deserts, not at first.

"When I first heard of the threat, I aided a group of refugees who had struck into the desert to escape the invasion. It was very alarming, Captain, I can assure you."

He nodded, rapt in attention.

"I had been gone for a day, tracking a sehlat. I returned in the middle of the attack. The Borg had found the settlement." She tried to take a stilling breath, but it only wracked her more, "They were machines, Captain, and not, at the same time. I can't explain it. They destroyed the settlement as though it were nothing. The Vulcans fought back, but it like ... they were ragdolls.

"The Borg, they had a port coming from their wrists. They injected them, and the prisoners went still, then they were carried away. I knew better than to attempt a rescue, already they would have been too far gone. I sat and waited, Captain.

"Night came, a lematya helped himself to the spoils. I travelled very far, Captain, farther into the heated wasteland, taking great care to cover my tracks. I came to a cave one evening, hoping to make camp, it was there that I met the Q. The rest, I hope you know."

"Did they take everyone?" the Captain asked unbelievably.

"Of the settlers, yes. But many of the cities remained in tact, or mostly. I was lucky that I was able to find Kov. Earth had been untouched, in greater part."

"I see."

"I escaped, Captain, but I expect the massacre continued. That is what I've come to prevent."

"Why here? Why now? When did the rift open?"

"It's true that the rift will open some time later if the timeline follows as it did. But, this is as I was told to proceed."

"And this Q?" he said grumpily.

"A – benefactor, I believe, Captain. I can't tell you more."

He nodded once, slowly. "Alright."

x Opening Theme x

"Take Down"

"Infiltrating the Romulan compound will be tricky." Malcolm began with an understatement, "Using these schematics T'Mir provided us, we will dock the shuttle here."

Everyone peered into the tiny viewscreen while Malcolm paused.

"My Security team will secure the docking site. Commander Tucker and T'Mir will make their way here," he pointed again, "To the shield generator, to disable it."

"Myself and Lieutenant Grace will activate the download link and take what we need from their computer database."

"I want to go on that mission." the Captain said defiantly, "If it's my ass on the line when Starfleet finds out, I want to be the one who collects the data I'm going to need to justify myself."

"Very well, sir." T'Mir agreed.

Malcolm looked quite unnerved. "Sir, the mission could be very dangerous." he warned.

"Then that's why you'll be there. Lieutenant."

"Yes, sir."

T'Mir continued unabated. "Firstly, we must pass through the Romulan detection grid. They are quite paranoid about invasion, and have an armada of warbirds on patrol at any given time. We will get as close to the shipyard as possible before attempting to penetrate their perimeter."

She pulled a PADD off the top of a stack in arms and handed it to T'Pol. "This is the information I have, along with pertinent sensor information from Enterprise's brief encounters with the Romulans. I would like you to work on disguising the ship to buy us more time."

T'Pol nodded, and began scanning the data without a word.

Another PADD was handed to Trip. "This is the information I have on the generator. It doesn't make much sense to me, but I thought it would help if you familiarized yourself with it."

"Thanks." he nodded.

"Lieutenant Reed, we will need a device capable of destroying the entire ship yard. Would it be possible to reconfigure a plasma torpedo."

He nodded thoughtfully, and his lips quirked slightly upwards. "Shouldn't be a problem."

She said no more, only left a cold, dark stare lingering on Malcolm.

Trip joked, hitting Malcolm on the arm, "Famous last words."

"Dismissed." Captain Archer nodded to all of them. The crew was in surprisingly good spirits as they set to their tasks.


	2. Part II

Trip entered the armoury in the middle of his shift. "Hey, Mal, you said ya needed some help."

Malcolm looked over his shoulder from where he was hovered over the torpedo casing. "Sorry to bother you, Commander, but I could use your expertise."

"Not a problem." Trip smiled, coming closer "What are ya lookin' at?"

"Just these circuit alignments, I was hoping to make modifications to the detonator, but I could use your opinion."

"Sure." Trip studied the jumble of wires for a minute, "I know what you need."

"Great."

Malcolm watched Trip work for several minutes before he tried to nonchalantly start a fused conversation. "What do you think about all this, attacking the Romulans?"

"Well, if the Cap'n's okay with it, that's good enough for me."

"Isn't that a little blind?"

"I think even the Captain's bein' a little blind with this one."

"It's because she's your daughter isn't it?"

"Hey." Trip warned. "Besides, you've been spending the most time with her lately. And you're the security officer who told me 'she's not a threat'."

"I did." Malcolm agreed, "But you're the one who told me she was an enemy spy infiltrating Enterprise."

"Opinions change." Trip muttered, pulling away, finished with his modification. "Why'd you ask me here, Malcolm, you're the expert in explosives. You didn't even need me for that."

"We're going into a very dangerous situation, Trip, I have to be sure you won't be compromised..."

"By T'Mir?" Trip asked unbelieving.

Malcolm said nothing, holding the question.

Trip sat down heavily on the bench at the wall. He looked up honestly. "Yeah," he shrugged, "I guess I could be 'compromised' if something goes wrong. Are you going to take me off the mission?"

Malcolm sighed, crossing his arms and muttering a soft, "No." His mouth twitched to the side in consideration. "What's she, your third? fourth? child since we left spacedock. I can't even keep track anymore."

"Hey!" Trip shouted in warning, jumping to his feet. He stopped when he saw the twinkle of mirth in Malcolm's eyes and a smile spread across his usually grim face. Trip couldn't help but roll his eyes and laugh. "Third," he answered, "I decided she only counts as one. It's ridiculous, isn't it?"

Malcolm nodded in agreement, but he sobered immediately. "You have to find a way to detach yourself, Trip, I can't take you off the mission, but I wouldn't advise putting the both of you on it – and since it's T'Mir's plan, I can't really send her packing, now can I?"

"She's my daughter, Malcolm. You can't ask me to ignore that."

"A little over a month ago, you would have had me shoot her, no questions asked."

"Opinions change." Tucker smiled, and left the Armoury.

x x x

"T'Pol, can I ask you something?" a nervous Hoshi asked over calculations and mint tea.

Flawless in logic as usual, T'Pol relied, "You have already just done so, but I presume you mean to ask me a further question."

Hoshi's face reddened in flustration. "It's something ... personal..., Commander."

"Then, perhaps, it is to remain 'personal'."

"What about aligning the spool directly to the inport? That would speed up the upload."

"It would also bypass the failsafe in the device in the case that the link was broken or the database destroyed." T'Pol answered, "However, that is not a personal question, Ensign. What were you planning to ask me?"

Hoshi remained silent.

"I am familiar with the rumour mill of this ship. In almost any case, I can guarantee the information you received was false."

Hoshi smiled, almost regretfully – it was a trick that worked with the Captain often enough. "I just wondered what your thoughts were on T'Mir."

T'Pol didn't miss a beat, and didn't look up from her PADD. "I find her actions rogue and undisciplined, and this plan to be most illogical. However, she has held herself well, and I believe that is why the Captain will proceed, and, possibly, succeed, with the mission."

Hoshi giggled almost imperceptibly hidden in a sigh, and rolled her eyes far to the side. "But, she's your daughter. You have to feel something about that."

"Indeed, I do." T'Pol took a sip of tea from the mug in her hand, "but that is personal."

Hoshi nodded, fighting valiantly with her joyful smile.

x x x

"Commander Tucker asked me to bring this to you." the crewman said, standing outside the small crawlspace where she worked.

T'Mir paused to take the part. "Thank you, Rostov."

"No problem."

She resumed her repairs to the ship's docking port, but he did not leave as anticipated. "Is there something else, Ensign?"

He fidgeted nervously under her scrutiny. "I just thought... you've seen into the future..."

She stopped him, her face cold, "You died, Ensign, in the explosion."

His eyes sprung open in shock. "Oh." was all he managed to say before turning and returning down the corridor.

Again, she returned to the repairs. Her response had been Vulcan, but her Human side wondered at it. Perhaps she had been too harsh. For certain, Humans had great difficulty in accepting death – she had personal experience with the matter – and hearing of one's own death could be most unsettling, that she knew as well.

It would be wise to speak to Ensign Rostov in the near future, to ... apologize for her inconsideration. She could also remind him that the danger had already passed, and perhaps that would alleviate his distress.

"Hey."

The friendly voice of Trip interrupted her musings. Embarrassingly, she realized she had paused, holding the piece above her head with a hypospanner in the opposite hand, while she had been thinking.

"How's it goin'?"

She cleared her throat to regain her composure. "Well, it would seem."

Trip crawled into the cramped space alongside her. "Hmmm." he continued, eyeing her work.

She grew increasingly uncomfortable in the proximity.

"It's not bad," he said, "but this power relay is misaligned. I'll just –." He reached for the hypospanner in her near hand, but it set off a tick.

"Commander!" she nearly shouted at him, if not for the Vulcan faculties keeping her voice even. She wrenched her hand away, dropping the spanner as she wriggled her body into the far wall. "Need I remind you that Vulcans do not like to be touched."

"Hey, relax, it was just the hypospanner." He picked up the tool where it had fallen and proceeded to make his corrections as though nothing had happened.

T'Mir was much more evidently panicked. She sat up, still maintaining her distance. "I apologize, I am ... on edge. I must meditate." She left quite rapidly, in blind awkwardness as she tried to crawl over Trip out of the hatch. She said no more as she scurried down the corridor.

Trip was baffled, holding a panel and hypospanner above his head.


	3. Part III

"T'Mir did somethin' strange today." Trip said, relaxing as the tension worked its way out of his shoulders in front of the meditation candle. "She jumped sky-high when I reached for a hypospanner she was holding."

T'Pol took two more deep breaths before opening her eyes to rest on him across the flame.

"Then she yelled, 'Vulcans don't like to be touched'." He tried to force a sad laugh, the pain showing through his crystal blue eyes. "I though' it would be okay, I mean, it's not like I haven' rubbed her before, and she seemed fine with it. And she yelled, T'Pol, I mean, not right out, but you could tell she was agitated."

"She is experiencing a great deal of apprehension." T'Pol stated flatly, not losing the calm demeanor the meditation had left on her features. "Have you not felt it?"

"Yeah, tha's what she said, then she ran off to meditate." Trip sighed.

"A wise action." T'Pol shut her eyes to resume her meditation.

Trip would not be so calmed. "What do you mean by 'felt it'?"

T'Pol's eyes opened again, this time with a hint of annoyance, perhaps with herself. A subtle, shy, nervous inflection came over her features and into her voice. "Through the bond we share, Trip. And that she appears to have been linked into in her time on Enterprise."

"Wha?" His head tilted to the side, as though he were trying to physically wrap his head around what T'Pol had just said. "You told me that would go away."

"I said it would diminish with time."

"Well, I can't feel it now, isn't it gone?"

T'Pol sighed. "You are simply not attuned to it. It will never be fully dissolved." Then she tried to resume her meditation once more.

Trip sputtered. "Ya mean, ye're still in my head?"

"No." T'Pol said, the annoyance showing through a little more than before. Then she paused and reconsidered, "Somewhat. Do you not trust me to leave your thoughts as your own."

"Yeah," Trip sighed, "I guess I do. But, how do I get so as I can 'sense' T'Mir?"

"The bond must be strengthened."

"Okay, I'm listenin'."

Her eyes opened wide and she averted her gaze to any and all of the nearby objects.

"Well?"

"Will you meditate with me tonight, or not?"

Knowing he'd lost, Trip settled back into his comfortable position. "Alright." He didn't waste his opportunity to glare at her when she closed her eyes once more. "Just 'cause yer cute."

Her eyes shot open again, filled with something akin to anger, and she dueled with his glare for just a minute before refocusing on her centre. He was only teasing – that she acknowledged the word 'teasing' along was an indication that she had spent far too much time with this Commander Tucker.

x x x

"It will take about twenty minutes to download the entire database." Hoshi explained, holding out the completed recording device.

"We can't be stagnant for more than three, or else we're sitting ducks." Malcolm complained.

"So," she continued, "it would be best if he could find what he wants and download it directly.

"Agreed." Malcolm took the device and studied it carefully, taping at a few of the controls.

Hoshi was dismissed, but she didn't leave. After a moment, she said, "You will be careful, won't you, Malcolm?"

He looked up, his mind having jumped to conclusions, his eyes wide.

She was all business. "Harris wants you alive – the operation won't go well without you."

"I'm always careful." he answered. He went back to the device, continuing, "But my first responsibility is to the Captain, I learned that before, his safety is my main concern." He turned to stare into her, his eyes fierce. "If I should die to save the Captain's life, then Harris will just have to find another undercover operative."

"But, Malcolm, –."

"Dismissed, Ensign."

"Malcolm."

"Dis-missed."

x x x

"Sir," Travis asked, turning in his chair to look at the Captain, "Are you alright, sir?"

The Captain looked up from the unremarkable spot on the floor he had been gazing at for the last half-hour, his hand on his chin. He seemed confused for a moment. "What, Ensign?"

"You've hardly said a word all shift. Care to talk about it?"

The captain sighed. "I was just thinking about the mission." When Travis didn't turn back to his console, he knew he was expected to extrapolate. "Do you know anything about the Romulans, Travis?"

He shook his head, "Can't say that I do, sir, not much more than you." Then something seemed to come to the front of his memory, "There was a ship, about a decade ago. They were a little more into exploring, you see, finding new freight runs. They headed out in this direction, they could have gotten as far as these coordinate before they wanted to turn around, but we never heard from them again. The story is they ran across a hostile species, and before they knew what was happening, they were adrift in hundreds of tiny pieces." He shuddered, "Gives me the chills just thinking about it."

The Captain held an unimpressed smile. "Thanks for the ghost story, Travis."

"I'm telling you, they would have turned around if they were able. Maybe they got too close, and the Romulans did them in."

The Captain sighed, considering the playful face of his pilot. "Alright, Ensign. Back to work." He stood and stretched. "I'll be in my Ready Room, you have the Bridge."

x x x

For the past several hours, she had attempted to meditate unsuccessfully. The thoughts in her head just would not still, there were too many voices echoing through her mind. Her recent interaction with Trip stood in the forefront. Usually, she would not have allowed herself to be so riled, nor would such an action have caused such a response – but it had.

T'Mir rose from her meditation, unsettled. The chronometer read 1400 hours. Two hours until they launched their dangerous mission. She took a deep cleansing breath, and resolved herself to the last logical action: she would honour the warriors of her past.

In her trunk of things, she found a small wooden box which she carried to the bathroom. Inside lay an ancient ink pot and a bladed pen atop intricate silk workings. Taking the stylus in her hand with a firm look of resolve, she peered into the mirror and began painstakingly marking her entire body with the scrolling, ochre lines of _acathu-anasi_.


	4. Part IV

Sixteen-hundred hours and the small crew was assembled. In the room adjoining the launch bay, Trip donned his protective gear and hand rifles. T'Mir entered, tight hairstyle and almost frown catching the commander's eye, that and the markings that peaked out around her sleeve cuffs and neckline.

"What's that?" he asked, almost accusingly.

"It is nothing." she replied, reaching for the shields that had been assigned to her.

"You gonna be okay in this thing?" he asked, reaching to fasten the chest-piece securely around her. He checked out her hand-weapons and pushed them into their holsters. "Well, what is it?"

"Trip." She turned around to face him apologetically, then exited to the launch bay, phaser rifle in hand.

"T'Mir!" he shouted, "What did you do?"

The door slid shut behind her, leaving Trip yelling at a steel panel.

"I believe it was acathu-anasi." T'Pol said quietly behind him.

"T'Pol?" Trip whipped around.

"It is the paint of warriors in battle." she continued, large brown orbs conveying her sadness.

"What are you doing here?" He stepped forward and opened his arms around her.

"She expects to die, Trip." and she hugged him back, burying her face in his chest.

Suddenly, the gravity of the situation he was about to hurtle himself and his daughter into hit him, and he held her like he wished he had done always, not knowing if it would be the last time.

The comm. sounded. "Trip?" came the captain's gravelly voice.

"On my way." he shouted.

He pulled himself up, tensing his jaw stiffly to keep the tremors from showing through.

T'Pol reached up and brushed a single tear off his cheek. "Please, promise me you'll be careful." She paused a moment, staring up with her soulful brown eyes, "Promise you'll take care of her."

He kissed her, enough to make up for two lost years and a lifetime after.

The door hissed behind him, forcing them apart. There T'Mir stood, her lifeless blue eyes jumping quickly to the floor once Trip turned to face her. He exited in front of her without a word.

T'Mir turned again to look at her mother, joining them in an understanding stare, until she couldn't take any more and blinked, turning, like her father, into the launch bay without a word.

The door closed, echoing in the small locker room. T'Pol couldn't stop the gut wrenching sob that forced her onto the nearby bench.

x x x

The shuttle pod was dead quiet on the flight down. Even the alarming jolt that accompanied disengaging the docking arm didn't elicit any comments from the crew. Malcolm sat in the middle of the bench, his security team filling the aft compartment behind him. Captain Archer and Trip sat opposite him, and opposite T'Mir.

Shy, nervous glances crossed the shuttle from one officer to the next and down to the floor. The floor was ideal for melancholic contemplation, T'Mir realized. Looking around the shuttle, she knew it was because of her that all these men and women were putting their lives at so much risk. She stared at Trip for a long time, his mirrored blue eyes staring out the small hatch window. That was why she had undergone the anasi: it was her fault, this suicide mission, and she was damned if she was going to let it get anyone. _At all costs_, she confirmed, as the lines across her chest and arms tingling almost imperceptibly.

x x x

The shuttle docked, and even before they were through the airlock, blaring alarms reached their ears. Malcolm waved his team into formation, they crouched with weapons already aimed and fingers just hovering above their respective triggers. The Captain was tucked in the back beside Malcolm, but he held a grim look on his face as he squinted through the sight on his rifle.

T'Mir waved Trip to the rear of the shuttle, standing back to back, plasma rifles braced on their shoulders. "Ready?" she asked rhetorically as they separated into a beam of particles.

The doors opened in front of the security team. The Romulans got the first shot, taking down Inthara in the front. As the Captain dragged him back into the shuttle, checking his vitals, the security team neutralized the Romulan force.

"Captain." Malcolm hissed, "Let's get moving."

"Alright." the Captain came around the corner, a scanner in hand, "This way."


	5. Part V

Trip and T'Mir materialized uneventfully in a corridor. "Where are we?" Trip asked.

"The generator is heavily shielded, this is as close as we could get." She held up her scanner. "This way."

An alarm started to sound all around them as they ran down the hallways. T'Mir stopped at a junction in the hallways, staying tight to the near wall. "Do you hear that?" she asked.

Trip shook his head no.

"Footsteps." she whispered. She took a cleansing breath and jumped suddenly into the open hall, firing readily. She caught them just as they rounded a far bend, unprepared for an assault.

Trip jumped out just a second later, but she had already neutralized the threat. He managed to get a quick look at a Romulan for the first time, at their ridged foreheads and pointed ears – that had to mean something. He shook his head and ran to catch up as she already sprinted down the hallway.

He found her crouched up against a door. "There are several soldiers just beyond these doors."

"Is there a way around?" he panted.

"This is where the shield generator is housed." she informed him.

He nodded. "I'll go in first."

"Trip, we need you to disarm the device. I –."

"I'll go in first." And he punched the control panel and curled himself around the door, cutting a path to the nearest bulkhead.

x x x

Malcolm's team followed the Captain through a mesmerizing set of corridors. With all the landing team's security personnel, they didn't encounter any opposition. The Captain's scanner told him they had reached the access junction he wanted, and he ducked in.

A guard above and below him, he hung off a ladder and tapped a computer console. Frowning, he pulled a recording device from his sleeve pocket.

"We're going to have to take all of it, Malcolm." he explained, "I can't get heads or tails off this."

"Just make it quick, sir, we don't want to get stuck in close quarters like this."

"I'm working on it, Malcolm."

x x x

The generator was a huge machine in the centre of the bay. It spanned three levels that spiralled imperceptibly upwards around the glowing cylinder. Trip spied what looked like a main control panel on a catwalk on the second level. T'Mir crouched down next to him, and he motioned his intent to her quickly before taking off.

x x x

She barely comprehended the inarticulate flapping of his hands, but through the bond, she acknowledged, she knew exactly what his plan was. She took off after him, helping cover the tens of security guards that fired at them.

Trip stumbled and flung himself behind another bulkhead that supported the massive interior structure. Nothing was injured, he was pretty sure, but his heart was thrashing around even more than before. T'Mir sailed past him, only glancing long enough to ascertain his condition.

The Romulan security force was bringing in additional members, and the group stayed opposite T'Mir and her father across the round room. T'Mir was out-gunned 20:1, even ten to one was unfavourable odds, but she needed some assistance.

"Trip!" she called out, dodging the weapons fire around her. "Trip!" she yelled again, chancing to glance over her shoulder to where he was just 20ft behind her. A shot hit her shoulder, and the shock of it threw her down across the floor.

"T'Mir!" Trip shouted, and sprinted frantically to her, firing to combat the shots he drew.

She moaned and rolled over as he came closer, allowing him to feel just a touch of relief. With her good hand, she reached across the open green wound, applying pressure. Grimacing, she reached for her rifle.

x x x

"What the hell was that?" The Captain looked around him frantically.

Above, Grace let out a dull 'oof', and fell suddenly on the Captain.

"Malcolm!" The Captain struggled with the wounded officer in his arms, the recording device on the console, and the ladder.

Malcolm hung off to the side of the ladder in the round tube. His phase pistol aimed up, scanning for any sign of the Romulans. "Go, sir." he hissed.

Jon pocketed the device unceremoniously ripped off the console, and did his best to balance the Lieutenant. He scurried down the ladder, as Malcolm fired shots past his head.

Safely on the ground below, Malcolm made the final jump to join his Captain. Lieutenant Grace was conscious, a rather dazed look on her face, and a nasty affliction to her right shoulder. With a little help from the Captain, she was able to stand at least.

Malcolm quickly jumped ahead, clearing the corridor. He ushered the Captain and officer ahead, doubling forward and back to cover both ends, as they stumbled toward the shuttle.

x x x

Blood oozed off her good hand where she had held the wound. She looked at it, if she had let her human side feel emotions, she would have been pissed. Her jaw set, cold eyes on the leader of the security force, she cocked her rifle and braced it.

Trip worked frantically at the control panel. T'Mir joined him after taking out a new-found personal vengeance on the team. She watched for signs of movement around them, wary that there were none.

At last, Trip turned to her and nodded, the generator already powering down. They took off running through the nearest set of doors. T'Mir's scanner provided the quickest way back to the shuttle and they made their way as fast as they could run.

x x x

Malcolm and his charges emerged around a corner and came into view of the shuttle defence team. With a sigh of relief, he waved his officers over to help the Lieutenant onto a bed.

Captain Archer breathed a heavy sigh of relief as well as they crossed the threshold into their own shuttle. He clapped a hand on Malcolm's back, with a look that said _Sit down, you've earned it_.

x x x

A shot from behind fired. T'Mir had been so focussed, she hadn't heard the squadron come up on them. Trip fell, a loud grunt exploding from his chest as he fell, already unconscious. T'Mir reacted automatically, taking out the five officers from where she had ducked behind a bulkhead.

"Oh, Trip." she said softly, kneeling down in front of him. A wave of pain spread out from her back. She knew that pain – she'd been shot, again, just opposite where she had been hit before – the irony of it fuelled her. Swiftly, for she was on the ground in the open now, she picked up her rifle and whipped around firing. She backed up, pushing with her legs across the floor, to cover Trip's body.

The first three guards went down easily, but another hit her squarely in the lower abdomen, and another two fired shots that were absorbed by her body shields. She was glad Trip had been able to decrease the recharge time on the phaser rifle as she fired in rapid succession.

She hit the two, so that just one remained. He hid behind a bulkhead, using it for cover. She could hear him breathing heavily, but then she was pretty sure he could say the same about her.

In their standstill, she reached to check her newest wound, but the noise was enough to bring him around the corner. She fired.

She breathed a sigh of relief as he fell, letting her muscles relax for just an instant. She checked Trip's vitals: present, not particularly good, but present. Ignoring her own pain through practiced control, she lifted him across her shoulders with Vulcan strength and started in the direction of the shuttlepod.

x x x

"There you are." Malcolm exclaimed anxiously, waving her toward the airlock. "What happened?"

Two security officers lifted Trip off her shoulders and carried him ahead of her. "We were delayed." she explained, collapsing onto the bench opposite where Trip had been lain down. She turned to the officer scanning him. "How bad is it?"

"I think he'll live," she said, handing over the tricorder, "but I'm just a medic"

T'Mir glanced at the readings and nodded, her fatigue washing over her. With great resolve, she turned to her own injuries: a number of seared muscles across her shoulder, not that it was surprising, and the shoulder had dislocated as a result. In her abdomen, a ripped descending colon and spleen; nothing the Doctor couldn't fix. She finally sunk down and succumbed to blood loss.

x x x

T'Pol acted as soon as the shuttle was on visual scanners.

Ensign Mayweather piloted the ship closer to the ship yard at impulse, careful to stop just tens of metres away from the shuttlepod.

The Ensign at tactical called up the coordinates T'Mir had entered and he fired the specially rigged bomb.

The shuttle docked and Travis simultaneously turned the ship 180°.

It was then the Romulans that had previously been only a concern on long-range sensors, dropped out of warp beside them. A fire fight started immediately, as the station imploded section by section.

The tactical officer fired several sweeps of the phaser banks, but it was not long lived.

Hoshi called across the Bridge, "The shuttle's in."

Travis went to maximum warp immediately, without even waiting for an order, and the Enterprise sped off into the distance.


End file.
